"Huh? Oh, what's this? Are you being clingy?" Jan, who was being hugged from behind by her son, teased.

 

"Jinn loves Mom. Loves you more than anything in the world." The son swallowed his sorrow as deeply as possible and embraced the only woman he loved, feeling her soft, warm skin, feeling her breath that indicated she was still alive.

 

His mother is still with him; it's not like his life before. How wonderful.

 

"Hehe, Mommy loves Jinn too. I love him more than anything in the world," Jan kissed her son's cheek from behind. Her son was much taller and bigger than she, but he would always be a little boy in her eyes.

 

"Breakfast is ready," Jett said softly, having just walked out of the kitchen. He nodded to his son's boyfriend, who was glancing at him gently, before his gaze fixed on the sight of the mother and child still embracing, hoping that one day he would be able to do the same.

 

"I'd like to stay and have dinner with you all," Jerome said, having already showered and brushed his teeth. "I don't want to go back and get teased." This elicited laughter from the two adults.

 

"Seriously, is this still part of the promotion?" Jan shook her head affectionately, glancing at her best friend's son, who was wearing her own son's clothes.

 

"Oh, there's no promotion, Auntie Jan. I'll always be like this."

 

"Okay, okay. And why are your eyes red? Did you two fight?" Jan turned around to look at her son, puzzled.

 

"It's like he's about to complain," Jinn said, pointing to his cheek. "No, we didn't fight. We made up a little. Look, Mom, Jay bit Jinn’s cheek. There's still a mark, right?"

 

"I was just annoyed," Jerome said, sitting down at the dining table as if it were his home. "I dreamt he abandoned me, Aunt Jan, Uncle Jett. Bad behaviour deserves punishment."

 

"They're really just kids, but then again, they're still young," Jett said with a smile, not taking offence at the boys' strange games at all.

 

Jinn stared at the man silently, gazing at his "father" with a mixture of emotions. Jerome's story made him feel heartbroken, even though it wasn't the other's fault at all. Yet, he accepted it willingly. He knew, even if he couldn't remember, that Jett would take the blame for his mother's death, accepting it to put his mind at ease. Jinn knew deep down how bad his own character was.

 

"Come on, let's eat," Jan gently touched her son's arm, signalling for him to sit at the table.

 

The four of them sat and ate breakfast together in a warm atmosphere, with occasional conversations. There was no awkward silence as they had feared.

 

Jett happily served his son food, delighted that Jinn was no longer resistant or uncomfortable being with him. This alone was enough to put the young man in a good mood for the whole day.

 

"Are you two going straight back to the condo?" Jan asked her son to open the shop before going out.

 

The woman and her husband had to go to work. Today, she had a major client meeting that she couldn't miss. As the president, her husband naturally had many responsibilities awaiting him. Every day, Jett would drive her to her shop and then have his driver pick her up. On the way back, if there were no urgent work, they would come to her shop and go home together. But if there were urgent work, he would have her drive herself home while he had his driver drop her off. It seems complicated, but it's actually quite convenient.

 

"I think so, because Jinn and Jay have to go see P'Tar again, so they'll probably go back to the condo."

 

"prohibit..."

 

"No racing, no drunk driving, I know, ma'am. We're dating now, no more racing. We can have a run-and-run sometime later," Jinn interrupted playfully before Jan could finish speaking.

 

"Just you wait. Don't let me find out, both of you," the only woman in the group pointed her slender finger at the two young men in a warning manner.

 

"Handsome instead," Jerome said, about to call himself "son-in-law" but not wanting to get kicked, so he changed his word to "handsome," as Aunt Jan suggested.

 

"Okay, Mom's leaving now. Lock the house properly, Jinn."

 

"okay"

 

"Dad's going to work now," Jett said as he opened the car door and turned to smile gently at his son.

 

"Okay...drive carefully, Dad."

 

Jinn smiled slightly at the wide-eyed expression of the man who was called "father" for the first time in over fourteen years, before turning his back and walking into the house, ignoring the joyful voice of the other man repeatedly asking his mother about it.

 

"Jan, Jan, can you hear me? Jinn called me 'Dad'! Did you hear that? I'm not hearing things, am I?"

 

Yes, I didn't care one bit.

 

"I can't believe my eyes," said Mai.

 

"Regarding the image I am seeing right in front of me," Van said.

 

"That's going to be true, you motherfucker!" - Farm.

 

"You're overdoing it. Just you wait," Jinn glared at his friend fiercely.

 

"How did you manage to get Van and Farm here, Mai?" Jerome asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

"It's because you guys caused trouble and then disappeared, so I had to go ask Van. That jerk didn't know anything either. We ended up talking a lot. When I told them you guys were coming to the field today, they wanted to come too," Mai explained.

 

"Yeah, talking on the phone is pointless. We need to meet in person!" Van raised an eyebrow at Jinn in a way that made him want to kick him.

"I should have trusted my gut from the start," Farm smirked, narrowing his eyes slyly.

 

"They're treating me like a bad guy, those bastards! Hi, P'Tar!"

 

“Hello, sir.”

 

"Wow, Jay, that's not your usual style at all," Tar teased his tall junior, who was dressed differently than usual today.

 

"Jerome," however, wasn't that easily embarrassed. Now that all his memories had returned, for a fleeting moment, he felt more mature than everyone else there, but he chose to dismiss that feeling because he preferred himself the way he was. It's good that we're growing old together like this.

 

"Come on, guys. Let's sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk."

 

It wasn't just Tar and Mai who were there, but many old friends as well. This meant that Jinn and Jerome faced a lot of interrogation, teasing, banter, and disbelieving stares throughout the night.

 

"Hey, I've noticed for a while now that they're not doing this because they're being punished. Jay's finger has been healed for ages; I almost forgot he ever broke it. But they're still glued together. Their gazes, their words... Ugh, I should just chop them off! Ew!" Farm, who was getting pretty drunk, rambled on in the middle of the group.

 

"Yeah, but I didn't notice at all, even though I'm with them all the time," Van frowned. He claimed to have a keen intuition and had even told Jerome about his suspicions earlier. What did this mean? Did it mean he was just imagining things...?

 

"I wasn't trying to hide anything that much, but I knew I'd get this kind of reaction, so I didn't want to tell anyone," Jerome said, sipping his soda. He'd already had one glass of alcohol and didn't want any more. Jinn hadn't had a single drink, seemingly still affected by what he'd just been told, and still somewhat resistant to alcohol.

 

"Yeah, you know it well. Of course, you got it. It surprised everyone. On the one hand, I was shocked; on the other hand, I felt like, 'Yeah, it's deserved.' Because I used to think that if you guys didn't have any prejudice against each other, you could easily be close friends. Now, it's just changed from close friends to... uh... close friends! Woohoo!" Everyone in the group yelped in unison, making Jinn want to kick them all one by one.

 

"So what? Why did you suddenly open up?" Donut bravely asked.

 

"He found my diary where I'd been complaining, that's how we ended up talking." Jinn didn't really want to talk about it, but part of him felt it wasn't a big deal. He just felt awkward.

 

"What are you complaining about?" Jinn leaned closer, as if to tell his friend that he was being nosy.

 

"You could call it complaining, but you could also call it expressing my true feelings, right?" Jerome lightly nudged the person sitting next to him with his shoulder.

 

"What the heck? Don't tell me... Jinn liked Jay first?" Van's eyes widened. He needed to reclaim credit for his quick senses. Come and get it!

 

"Huh???" All eyes turned to Jinn, including his boyfriend, who had a wicked smile.

 

"Well, that's that," Jinn shrugged as if indifferent, but his ears were bright red, making Jerome unable to resist gently massaging them affectionately.

 

"Damn!!! You're definitely the best at hiding your emotions in the whole country!" Tar’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.

 

"Because I'm good, you know."

 

"Haha, and what about you, Jay? There's no way Jinn would like you one-sidedly, right?" one of his old friends asked.

 

"Yeah, that's right. Once I realised she liked me, I reflected on myself, and that's how we started dating. We had the same feelings, it's just that my feelings came a little late."

 

"Not just a little, you idiot. Ten years. You're practically stupid," Farm taunted his friend loudly.

 

"You want to get kicked, huh?" Jerome lifted his foot, pretending to push his friend sitting opposite him out of the chair.

"Hey, hey, hey, Jerome! You weren't like this before. This is what they say: 'Associate with bad people, and they'll lead you astray.'" Farm said in a high-pitched voice, making a move to hide behind Mai, who was sitting next to him.

 

"But if you associate with scholars, they'll get their mouths broken. Do you want that, Farm?" Jinn cracked his knuckles, turned his neck, and glared at the other man with a wicked look, his face ready to punch anyone.

 

"I'm sorry," the troublemaker said, pitifully bowing his head.

 

“Hahaha! Come on, let's toast, everyone! Drink to the rivals who became lovers today! Cheers!” Tar, acting as the eldest, gave a motivational speech and raised his glass in the middle of the circle.

 

"Cheers!" Numerous glasses clinked together, creating a clear, resonant sound.

 

"Who said JJ and I don't get along?" one of their friends teased.

 

"JJ and I really don't get along, but that's just in front of other people. Behind their backs, they secretly like each other. It's hilarious," Donut laughed loudly.

 

"Is that enough? If not, JJ will punch his friend in the mouth again," Jinn said, making a thug-like face and staring at Donut.

 

"Cough, cough. That's enough, brother. Jinn is always so cruel."

 

"Yeah, but I hope you two stay together for a long time. Congratulations!"

 

“Congratulations.”

 

“Congratulations, guys.”

 

"Congratulations, JJ. May your love last a long time."

 

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jerome and Jinn looked at each other and smiled broadly. Everything wasn't as embarrassing as they'd thought. They were just a little shy, but friends are friends; they only mean well and are always trying to have fun together. They'd probably been overthinking things before. By now, everyone probably knows about their relationship.

 

The phrase "JJ and I don't get along" has completely disappeared from this world. Only...

 

"My beloved JJ" is the only one who will last forever from now on.